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Updated August 13th, 2021 at 21:25 IST

Denmark says goodbye to masks with decision to remove COVID obligatory rules

Masks would no longer be needed on Danish public transportation, yet masks will continue to be required on aircraft and in airports for regulations

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Denmark
Credit: AP | Image:self
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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Danish government announced on Friday that masks would no longer be needed on Danish public transportation. The government further revealed that they are bringing an end to the Nordic country's mandatory face-covering rules. 

In a statement, the transport minister Benny Engelbrecht stated that the country is now in such a situation where a substantial portion of the public has been inoculated. He even said that the nation is now returning to a more regular everyday routine. He went on to remark that Danish people can now say goodbye to masks while commuting in buses, trains, and the metro beginning Saturday. 

This modification was supposed to happen on September 1st. 

Previously, the health officials in the 5.8 million-strong nation had decided to ease social-distancing restrictions on Wednesday, citing a daily rate of 1,000 new cases. On the other hand, more than 60% of the population has been vaccinated. 

In a statement, Helene Bilsted Probst, deputy director of the national health agency, stated that the nation now has strong control over the virus throughout society. She further said that as a result, people might adopt the preventive guidelines so that they can live a routine life while still adhering to the prevention concept. However, masks will continue to be required on aircraft and in airports where international air-transport regulations apply. 

Recent Vaccine Campaign for age group 20-29 

Recently, Denmark initiated a new vaccination campaign aimed at those individuals aged between 20 and 29, with an initiative to start drop-in immunisation centres at colleges and schools around the country. 

The Danish Health Authority noted in a news statement announcing the campaign, that vaccination uptake was low among those aged 20 to 29, despite individuals of the age group getting requests to make appointments a few weeks ago. The government wants to put pop-up inoculation centres set up near schools, universities, and other areas where young people assemble so that they can be vaccinated without having to make an appointment. 

Previous restriction relaxation steps

Previously, in February, Denmark was to reopen shops, and the government even decided to open some schools in March.  

Denmark, being one amongst the countries in Europe with the lowest infection rates, has witnessed a decrease in overall infection rates since implementing lockdown measures in December to combat a highly-infectious coronavirus strain. 

In February, when a new and more infectious coronavirus variant, known as the Delta variant had wreaked havoc across Europe, it began spreading throughout the country, accounting for more than half of the total number of cases. 

The current COVID scenario in Demark is that it has a total of 3,29,010 cases, this includes 3,13,785 people who have recovered. The number of deaths reported is 2,558.   

(Image Credit: AP) 

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Published August 13th, 2021 at 21:25 IST

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